Night Film-Marisha Pessl

Book Title: Night Film
Author: Marisha Pessl
Version: ARC
ISBN: 9781400067886
Published: August 2013
Publisher: Random House
Genre: Fiction, Mystery

[Note: I'm back! I am so sorry that it has taken so long to get this review up but things have been so crazy at work lately, maybe I'll tell you all about it sometime, that I've been too exhausted to be creative so this has been a long time coming. But finally here it is! And hopefully this is my big return to more regular updates.]

Synopsis: It opens with a dead body. Ashley Cordova's body is found in a seedy part of New York supposedly having committed suicide. When former big time reporter Scott McGrath finds out he is unconvinced that the young piano prodigy's death was a suicide. McGrath knows of the Cordova family and the darkness that seems to follow them wherever they go. Deciding that finding out what really happened will kick start his career again, Scott begins a journey that will drive him to the very edge of his sanity.

Along the way Scott picks up a couple of companions, a young man that claims to have known Ashley when she was young, named Hopper. And a young wannabe actress who was one of the last people to see Ashley alive named Nora. Although at first Scott resits the help standing firm in his 'I work alone' policy he slowly finds that the two of them are not only assets in finding out all the secrets that he is desperate for. But they end up as perfect allies in the dark world that he finds himself entering with each piece of information that they uncovers. 

Diving into Ashley's past means that Scott has to once again dive into the life of her father, Stanislas Cordova, the dark genius filmmaker that garnered a cult following. Digging into Cordova's life was what had cost Scott his career the first time around and this time he isn't just poking at Cordova he is messing around with his family life. Just the thought of going up against Cordova again makes his stomach turn but he is determined to get the answers he seeks and find out the truth about Ashley.

REVIEW: I was hooked from the very first page. From the opening web pages that were fake news articles and web posts from fans of Cordova and his films, I knew that what I had started was going to be an amazing journey. And I was right, this was a great book! The storytelling, the mystery, the intrigue was all so well put together that I couldn't put it down and when I did I couldn't wait to get back to it. 

From the very beginning I knew that this was a good story. I was gripped from the moment I opened the book and once I got into it a little bit I was already so invested that it was an automatic love. The way Marisha Pessl wove mystery and her fake web pages into what could have been another dull 'who-dunnit' was nothing short of incredible. It wasn't really action packed but the subtle menace that followed the characters through the book sure kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. 

Marisha Pessl's characters were unique and lovely and perfectly flawed in totally human ways. They were truly three dimensional, they had all the flaws that people have and you didn't really like any of them unconditionally. And that's kind of what I like most about them. Scott McGrath was a rather selfish uptight man that's only real redeeming quality was the love he felt for his daughter. Hopper was this sullen, almost obnoxiously taciturn guy that feels that because he had it tough as a kid the world owes him a huge debt. Nora is this bumbling, totally naive young girl who plays up the little girl 'I have no idea' routine. And of course there is the Cordova family who are dark, secretive and possibly even murderous. Their imperfections were what made them perfect. 

The writing was brilliant, especially the dialogue. Marisha Pessl has a wonderfully fresh voice that is simple and pure and one can tell that she spent a great deal of time thinking about each word and each sentence. It was really wonderfully done. I loved how well the dialogue flowed between the characters, there was a naturalness in the dialogue that I thought was simply brilliant. All in all this was a very well written book.

Now I may be a little biased about the book because I read it on vacation in Hilton Head, by the ocean, with my two best buds. But I truly liked this book. I highly recommend it to everyone looking for a good old fashioned good read. That's what this is all around, well written, great story, awesome characters. It's a triple threat and I take my tiny hat off five times to it. (Thanks DGF for that rating suggestion). This is a great, great book so go out and get it, it is very worth the read!  

Howards End is on the Landing-Susan Hill

Book Title: Howards End is on the Landing
Author: Susan Hill
Version: Nook Book
ISBN: 9781847652638
Published: August 8, 2010
Publisher: Profile
Genre: Memoir

Note: I know that I said I was going to review "Night Film" after my vacation but I have been thinking about this book for too long and I just have to get this review out of the way before I do "Night Film." 

SYNOPSIS: This book was supposed to be about a woman named Susan Hill who is a writer and reviewer and who after a search for a particular book in her home realized how many books she had that she had forgotten. She then decided to take a year and just read the books that she had in her home that she hadn't read yet or books that she owned that she forgot she had. She was going to buy no new books, she was instead going to enjoy the ones she already had.

This book was really about a woman who simply wanted to name drop and put down people with eReaders. There was very little talk about the books she read and more talk about where books were put in her house and the authors and famous journalists she met. There was some talk about books she has read, and some talk about books she studied in school. Mostly though she would talk about how she would never get an ereader because that was what real readers did and which famous people she knew or corresponded with. 

REVIEW: I try very hard to be as kind as possible while still being truthful in my reviews. But I feel as if I was being put down through out the whole book because I was reading on my nook. She made me feel inadequate because I hadn't read the complete collection of the famous writer Snotty McHighonhishorse. 

I didn't like this book, I didn't enjoy being talked down to through literature. Books are supposed to be enjoyed however they can be, in any form that people choose to enjoy them. Now I am a huge fan of every sort of book, I think that I have established that, but not all people are. A lot of people only like reading romance novels, or their bookshelves are filled with nothing but James Patterson, have Nooks filled with every classic ever written. Does that mean that the person who loves 'Fifty Shades of Grey' and all books like it is less of a reader than the person who's favorite book is 'War & Peace?' I think not. Am I any less well read because I read some of my books on a nook rather than the physical book? I don't think so. 

In fact I am able to read more because I have a nook, ebooks are more affordable and because this is New York and my space is limited I can own more books because ebooks take up no space. Because ebooks are more affordable and more accessible more people seem to be reading these days. So why would Ms. Hill spend a good chunk of her time putting down ereaders and those that use them? I feel as if that is totally counter intuitive for people to read. More people are getting back into reading because they have become more accessible to books again due to ebooks and ereaders.   

The writing was sub par, the story wasn't really what it was supposed to be and Susan Hill just all around rubbed me the wrong way. I was highly disappointed in the book as a whole and I was so angry the whole time that the question has to be asked 'why did I finish reading it?' I have no answer, I kept hoping that there would be some talk about books, or the utter joy she had while rereading a favorite passage but it just wasn't there. For someone who claims to love books the way she did I felt that she spent most of her time talking about how well educated and awesome she is. I want to say that there are a few parts about her excitement about libraries and how reading has always been a big part of her life. Books were talked about to a degree, I am not being fair saying that there was no book talk, however I feel that this was supposed to be a book all about books. An entire year spent reading and rereading amazing books. Her love for each new book or rediscovered book was what was missing. That was what I was expecting and the fact that, that wasn't what I was given was what disappointed me.  

I hate to put down a fellow reviewer and book lover but I felt like she just didn't care. I apologize to Susan Hill if my review seems harsh but I felt the whole time that I was being made fun of and put down for not having a degree in English literature and enjoying ebooks. I read books because they make me feel good, they make me laugh or cry, I get excited or fully absorbed in a new subject but no matter how I feel after I've read a book I always, always feel accomplished. I'm excited about reading and learning new things. But after I finished this book, I felt judged and angry and frustrated. This is not a good book to read. It's something that you can skip easily. It really was a disappointment but I have to say that I do not recommend this book at all. And I really hate not being able to recommend a book. However this is just a book that I have to say a big no to because it just doesn't love it's readers back, and I feel that, that is what good books do. 

My One True Love and Why I Love Them Part 2

I am so sorry that this wasn't posted last night. I was busy yesterday cleaning and then editing the friend's book I have been working on and I just lost track of time. As I was saying before I got too tired to continue there are just too many books in the world for me to get to all of them and I know this. However I feel as if I am letting them down by not trying. And so one book at a time I try to absorb a little bit of everything. I know that I am sorely lacking in quite a few genres or sub-genres but I am trying my best to become a truly well read person. 

I mentioned that I was on vacation, a couple friends and I went to Hilton Head, South Carolina for a week. While there I finished two books I had been in the middle of and read a third. All of which I will review here shortly. But in the meantime, one of them was a book called "Howard's End is on the Landing" by Susan Hill. It was a book that said it was supposed to be about a woman who spent a year reading only the books that were on her shelves in her home. Through out the book her love for reading came through and this reminded me of my own love and inspired me to finally write about why and what I love about books. 

Books are magical portals into other worlds and if they are put together right they can take you to places that your imagination only dreams of. They can be fun, or sad, they can anchor you or lift you up to new heights. I love the way books look all lined up on a shelf or stacked side by side on a table, just waiting for a new reader, a new friend to pick them up take them home and begin a new journey with them. 

I also truly appreciate bookstores. I am the first to admit, that I love my Nook, the books are cheaper and as a New Yorker it saves me a lot of space. But I still love bookstores with an undying passion. There is something about walking into a bookstore and seeing all the books that are out, there taking them in as a whole that can't be duplicated by 'browsing' online. As I mentioned before I was recently on vacation. While driving to Hilton Head from the Savannah airport we saw a "Barnes & Noble Center." At first, being B & N employees on vacation from said store, we were are all 'wow, we can't seem to escape it.' But as our book supply started to run out and as our bibliophile nerddom began to feel neglected we decided that it was a visit that had to be made. And so towards the end of our trip we bit the bullet and headed to the Hilton Head Island Barnes & Noble. Just walking in there made my heart beat faster, and made me get antsy and want to get back to reading. There is just so much to be read and seeing it all laid out in a bookstore makes me feel all happy and excited. Every time I walk into a bookstore I all in love with reading all over again. That is a pretty powerful thing don't you think?

I think that my love of books is pretty obvious. And I guess that it would be pretty easy to think that I am nothing but a book collector that enjoys reading occasionally. However this is not the case. Reading is what drives my love of books. I buy beautiful books but the difference between me and a collector is that I will go back and pick up that beautiful book to read again. A book can be beautiful but it doesn't serve its purpose unless it is being read. I love books, I love reading I love getting that rush of excitement when I walk into a bookstore. I love all of it. And I hope that someday I can inspire people to find that love as well, maybe not as obsessively as me because let's face it I'm a totally obsessed nerd and proud of it! 

Well I think that is all for now. I hope that you dear readers have truly enjoyed my two part post about my love of books and reading. It was a post that I knew had to be done at some point and I hope that I did my enjoyment justice enough to cause you enjoyment. 

  

My One True Love and Why I Love Them Part 1

I love books. I feel that, that is pretty self evident but I also felt that it needed saying. I love books of all shapes, sizes, material, color. I love them all as a whole. I don't always love all the individual stories that I read but I certainly respect the fact that the author made an effort (in most cases anyway.) There is a quote by Erasmus that says "When I get a little money I buy books; and if any is left I buy food and clothes." In a lot of ways this explains me to a 'T' because there was a time when this was almost literally true. Books feed and protect me in ways that food, and clothes just can't do. In short I love books.

I think that with a dad like mine I always knew the importance of books just like with a mother like mine I've always known the importance of art. But books never spoke to me when I was younger. I enjoyed them, and my dad reading Grimm's Fairy Tales was a favorite part of my day but I don't think that I ever really got them. Movies were more my thing maybe even too much my thing but there you have it. However when I was in the eighth I had to do a big joe project. This project was a huge part of me graduating and I was putting it off. And so my dad made a rule that there would be no more movies until it was done. I could however read whatever I wanted after my homework was done. And although I truly missed my movies, I even made a list that grew every day of movies I wanted to see once my punishment was lifted, I think that this is where my love of books started to grow.

I'm not a 100% sure that my memory is completely intact about this but I feel that this is where I finally started understanding books. Since then, even in my darkest days, books have been beside me in some form or another. My love for these magic creatures grew as I did. I think that I have always read above my level, I mean I was reading Shakespeare before I ever picked up a teen novel. Although those came eventually, Francesca Lia Block and Christopher Pike especially. But as I grew my appetite for them grew and all I could think about was what else could I read, what more was there that I missed? 

I want to read them all. I want to have read every book in every genre that I enjoy. I've read all of Austen's full novels, all Jodi Picoult's published novels. I've read a lot of Shakespeare, some Jack Kerouac, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, some Plath. I've read science fiction, fantasy, history, historical fiction, some biographies, poetry, plays, classics, general fiction, mystery, horror. And I feel as if I've read nothing. It seems crazy I know because for someone my age I have read more than my fair share. Yet I still feel like there are books out there that I don't know about and so many types of books that I will just never get to. 

I just got back from vacation and I'm feeling pretty tired so I think that I am going to end this here for now. Looks like this is going to be a two-parter. So more tomorrow.    

"The Angel's Game"-Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Book Title: The Angel's Game (Cemetery of Forgotten Books #2)
Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Version: Paperback
ISBN: 9780767931113
Published: May 18th, 2010
Originally Published: 2008
Publisher: Anchor
Genre: Fiction

REVIEW: I'm a little rusty and very tired so this is going to be a straight review. I fell in love with Carlos Ruiz Zafon in the very first pages of "The Shadow of the Wind" (the review can be found here) and I just knew that my love would only grow while reading "The Angel's Game," and sure enough it did. Zafon, once again, brought his unique voice to a rather strange story and made it sing. I found the story of David Martin irresistible and utterly alluring. Every time I thought that I had been twisted and confused as much as possible Zafon would throw another curve ball my way. And I loved every minute of it. I found myself thinking about the book even when I was doing other things, in fact I would sometimes lose myself in the thoughts of 'what's gonna happen next?' There is something about the book that makes it stick with me. I'm still thinking about it and it's been a week since I finished it. Now that is something really special.

Zafon has such a beautiful writing style, there is poetry about it and as strange as it sounds almost a levity in his words even during the darkest bits. His writing makes me want to write, to create to strive for the very highest level of creativity. Very few authors are talented enough to do that, to make someone want to reach for a pen, a paintbrush, a can of spray paint. There was something about "The Angel's Game" especially that made me feel like writing a novel of my own. 

The main character was David Martin and he was rather pathetic. He was a hard character to fall in love with, instead I found myself feeling sorry for and hating him in equal measure. Despite having these conflicting feelings I found myself rooting for him, hoping that something would go in a better direction for him. I promise I'm not going to say anything more because I don't want to spoil it for anyone but David Martin is one of the strangest and most frustrating characters that I have ever come across and he's a character that you won't want to miss. 

"The Angel's Game" was all around a fantastic read and an edge of your seat story. I highly recommend finding a copy of the book somehow because it is highly worth reading. I read it in about 4 days and I promise you it's not because I'm a crazy fast reader it's just that good, it's not a book that can be put down. Carlos Ruiz Zafon has done it yet again with "The Angel's Game" and I can't wait to see what he brings me next. I can solidly say that Carlos Ruiz Zafon has become one of my favorite authors now and I think that he might just become one of yours as well. I know that I am doing this book a disservice by leaving it at that but there is so much mystery about it and so many twists and mind blowing moments that I would be doing an even greater disservice by revealing anything more. So forgive me dear readers for leaving it a little short and so very trimmed of juicy parts. Go out and pick up a copy and read it for yourself and you will find the magic there, in the pages and in the story rather than trying to simply get a whiff from my review.  

Something Different

Alright y'all since it has been so long since my last post I figured I would throw you a curve ball and do something that I have never done before. I am going to be talking about a book that I have recently read and a movie that I have recently seen again. After reading this book and seeing this movie I realized there are similarities there and I wanted to post something that was more like a discussion about how they are similar even though they were made many years apart. The book is "Breakfast At Tiffany's" by Truman Capote and the movie is "Crazy/Beautiful" starring Kirsten Dunst and Jay Hernandez and directed by John Stockwell. 

Now if any of you faithful readers know the book or the movie or both you will know just how different they are. Or rather how different they seem to be on the surface. "Breakfast at Tiffany's" is the story of a young man who meets a young broken woman who is doing her best to continue running from her past. These two strangers live in the same building and meet rather accidentally and in a strange twist of fate they become friendly. Holly is a sad, lonely and rather lost young woman who finds solace in $50 for the powder room and walking by Tiffany's when she gets the mean reds. The only person she truly loves at all the world is her slow-witted brother Fred. The narrator finds himself swept up in her crazy world and despite his efforts not to finds himself wanting to save her. 

"Crazy/Beautiful" is a movie about a wealthy politician's daughter who has a darkness in her that she tries to simultaneously hide and run from by drinking, doing drugs and pushing the limits that are set for her as much as possible. She meets a young Hispanic man while doing trash pick-up community service. He is from a poor, one-parent household with very little opportunity. With that in mind he becomes a straight and narrow type of guy. He takes a bus an hour each way to get to the better school, he studies hard, is part of the football team and follows all the rules to the letter. His dream is to make it to Annapolis and become a pilot. When he first meets Nicole he knows that she is a distraction but he can't seem to stay away. What follows is a dangerous downward spiral that almost tears both of them apart.

Like I said at the beginning, these two don't seem to have all that much in common. But the longer I watched the movie the more I realized just how similar they are. They are both tales of women that have lost their ways and can't seem to find their way back without a guide. In "Crazy/Beautiful" Nicole, our heroine, escapes from her past with booze and drugs, and in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" Holly escapes with men and delusions. Two very different escapes but we have to remember that 'Holly' escaped in the late fifties when women were still fighting the lady-like restrictions of the early fifties. In the nineties when 'Nicole' was escaping it was the norm for young wealthy women to be taking designer drugs and "rebelling." However different they may seem these two women were actually very much alike in their need to run run from the things that they couldn't face. 

In the midst of their escaping they both found men that became a guide for them. I don't want to give anything away so I'm not going to say much more but both women go through intense journeys in very different ways. But for me they were also very similar in the ways they handled their journeys and the way they were both desperately looking for something to hold on to in a world that seems to be continuously rocking them. 

Because this is a review blog I want to say that I loved "Breakfast at Tiffany's." I thought that it was well written and very different then the movie but I kind of enjoyed that part of it. I read the 50th Anniversary edition which included three other short stories by Capote. All were strange and intricate and incredibly well written. I must say that I really love his writing and look forward to reading more of his work. The story of "Breakfast at Tiffany's" has always been a favorite of mine and granted it was the movie I knew but the basic story was something that I loved and I loved it in book form just as much.

Well that's it for this round cats and kittens. I hope you enjoyed this new thing that I did here. I just thought that I would try something new and see where it got me. It might be something that I do again and it might be a one time thing but I know that either way I really enjoyed it, a one-sided discussion about two things I really love. Books and movies. What could be more fun than that? Please feel free to comment with some of your ideas on the subject of the similarities between "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and "Crazy/Beautiful."    

Author Interview #3-Victoria Kante

Hey guys, I must be doing something half-way okay because here is a third author interview. And I am very excited about it! I hope that you will be too! This goes along with the review I posted on June 7th, Loving Marcus. Please read, enjoy and go out and buy her book! 

1) What inspires you to write?

      I began writing when I was a young teenager. It was my way of expressing my feelings and the things I saw happening around me. Over the years, it became a comfortable habit and after taking several creative writing classes in college, I was told by my professors that I had a gift for storytelling, especially when it came to my journals! 



2)  You mentioned that this was a personal story for you, what is it that is personal for you?


         Unfortunately, many people who have been close to my heart, have suffered with and succumbed to cancer. I believe this was my way of working through what they went through and to show how difficult it is to make choices when their life is at stake, knowing how it will affect the people who love them. 


3) This is a very emotional story, so full of sadness, what made you want to write about such an intense topic?


      It wasn't really that I wanted to, or chose to. The topic picked me. I have stories in my head all the time and the characters come to life on the pages of their own free will. I know this sounds strange, but when I sit down to write, the story unravels without any forethought. 


4) Do you have any authors that really move you?


    The authors who have moved me the most are Harper Lee, "To Kill a Mockingbird", any works of C.S. Lewis, William Golding, "Lord of the Flies" and of course more recently, Nicholas Sparks and Danielle Steel are excellent story tellers. 


5) You once told me you were a storyteller, have you always been one or is this something new that has developed?


      I've always enjoyed storytelling. When I was younger, I would entertain my two little sisters (yes, sometimes it was strictly meant to scare them to death!) and I raised my children telling them stories at bedtime. 


6)  Can we expect to see more from you soon? I know I'm looking forward to seeing what is next, so I hope it's soon! 


        I'm working on a modern novel about a young American Indian woman who has moved away from her family and is struggling to create a life for herself. It's very different from my first novel! I'm hopeful that it will be ready by the end of the summer.



And there it is folks, another interview for your viewing pleasure. Remember I'm still getting the hang of actually being able to interview authors so forgive me if this is a little short or not quite as back and forth as most interviews. I'm trying and also it's still an interview with an awesome author so be grateful for that! I know I am, and with that a very special thank you to Ms. Victoria Kante for her time and the wonderful novel she wrote. I can't wait for her next book! Watch for a review here!